Academy of Applied Science
SPARKS:2001
From a Library in Amherst: An Everyday Hero
by Don Kelly, Chief Executive Officer
In a recent SPARKS column I asked rhetorically about the heroes of our world. Who are they? Where are they? And I spoke of our staff discussions about the media's liberal use of the "H" word when referencing ball players and media celebrities. The point of my little column, pursuing the spirit of National Inventors' Month, was to remind readers that the expression, true hero, most certainly applies to inventors-in light of their courage and risk-taking grit.
Enough said? Apparently not.
Over the ensuing weeks, I received numerous e-mails and letters seeking to answer my questions. Most respondents enthusiastically agreed that inventors deserve that distinction; some even offered their favorite inventor-hero examples. Moreover, they understood that I wasn't talking only about showcase heroes whose names grace the history books and line the halls of fame. I had referred to all inventors: the great, or not so great, and the sadly never great. All those who took their best shots, win or lose-heroes. Interestingly, I also heard from an old friend who recalled that inventors themselves often benefit from the acts of everyday heroes of another sort.
Across this really great nation of ours there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people who spend a lifetime dedicated to encouraging inventors and nurturing innovation, and often doing so on their own time as volunteers. These are the people who work diligently, in futuristic author George Gilder's words, "to see that the air is clear and the skies are blue for those who would invent our tomorrows." If you'd like to meet such a hero, simply turn your attention to the "PLEASE MEET" section above in this SPARKS issue.
In addition to a long and fruitful career in library science spent with great passion at New Hampshire's Amherst Middle School Library, Joyce Kenne served us all for more than three decades as a fiercely dedicated volunteer. As a volunteer, Ms. Kenne helped to lead the "Friends of the Library" in Amherst while coordinating an expanding "Camp Invention Program" serving more than 1,500 kids each summer. Most important to her friends here at the Academy, she has been a voluntary consortium leader for the New Hampshire Young Inventors' Program since its inception more than fifteen years ago.
Imagine if you will how many young lives Joyce Kenne has touchedhow many times she brought inspiration to some young mindhow many times her tireless efforts may have fueled the spark of genius.
Motivational speaker and author Joseph Campbell said it best: "A hero is someone who has given his or her lifetime to something bigger than oneself." That surely fits the enduring role played by Joyce Kenne, and so does the title, hero.
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